Abstract
This study investigated the effects of sodium bicarbonate (SB) on the rheological properties, foaming ability, digestibility, and gelation behavior of duck myofibrillar protein (MP) during cold plasma (CP) treatment. Duck MP solutions containing 0 %, 0.2 %, 0.4 %, and 0.6 % SB were treated with CP (50 V, 3 min), and their functional characteristics were analyzed. CP treatment alone induced significant protein oxidation and aggregation, leading to reduced rheological properties, digestibility, foaming ability, and gel quality. However, SB addition effectively alleviated these adverse effects. Compared to the CP treatment alone group, the CP-SB0.6 group showed increases in gel strength (2.61-fold), digestibility (1.02-fold), and total sulfhydryl content (40.57 %), along with reductions in carbonyl and dityrosine contents by 62.58 % and 46.95 %, respectively. SB also improved foaming ability (51.42 %), water-holding capacity (34.57 %), and Ca2+-ATPase activity (87.50 %). Microstructural and low-field NMR analyses further confirmed the formation of a denser gel matrix and enhanced water retention. These findings demonstrate that SB effectively mitigates CP-induced oxidative damage and offers a promising strategy to enhance the functional properties of duck MP in meat processing.